RP Martin

A long time ago some big banks decided that it would be good to sell interest-rate derivatives. To do that they needed an interest rate on which to sell derivatives. Various possibilities presented themselves -- Treasury rates or whatever -- but the interest rates that the banks themselves paid on short-term borrowing had an especially obvious appeal as an index.

Joaquín Almunia, Commission Vice-President in charge of competition policy, said: “What is shocking about the LIBOR and EURIBOR scandals is not only the manipulation of benchmarks, which is being tackled by financial regulators worldwide, but also the collusion between banks